The overly motivated student!
Have you ever experienced the overly motivated student, or over-achiever? They want to be called on to answer every question. They want your full attention after class...while other students are waiting. They don't pick up on your clues that you have many students to help. They really could care less about rewards, because the only award which matters to them is dominating your full attention and time.
Linda, this is where the guide comes into play over the buddy with respect to teaching. This is discussed in ED113. As a guide you will allocate the appropriate amount of time for each student and schedule time for those that need additional time. Nothing wrong with telling a student their time is up and you can assist them further by making another appointment. You can also let a student know you feel they are too dependent upon you as a crutch and you would like to see them become more independent. Independence is one of the desired outcomes of higher education and one of your goals as an instructor is for your students to be able to function outside of the classroom and outside of your influence. This may be a good conversation to have with your students.
James Jackson
With an overly motivated student one can often pull that student to the side and ask that student to be patient and allow others to catch up to his/her level. Offer for that student to begin a study group or assist others by sharing his/her enthusiam and interest of the course after class in the said study group.
Helen , great post and a very valid point. Diverse classrooms are more and more commonplace. Just as you may need to be prepared to assist those that have fallen behind you also need to be prepared for those that are exceptional and need more of a challenge to keep their attention and interest. Not all accelerated students make good group leaders but this can certainly be a good way to reward such students if the situation allows.
James Jackson
And please remember that something this over achieving quality is due to factors outside of simply gathering attention.
I recently attended a conference dedicated to teaching those with autism, specifically Asperger Syndrome. Many of these student can't read social behavior, nor do they understand that answering EVERY question is socially unacceptable.
There are a host of ways to deal with the situation (and the most frustrating thing is that what works for one Autistic student may not work for another.), and sometimes you have to be very direct because that is really the only way to relay the message.
One of my favorite students of all time was exactly like this, and I had to literally tell her that "This meeting is done now" so she would understand to leave my desk. I thought at first, that I was being rude. Actually, that was the only way she could understand that our interaction was finished.
It really is a fascinating subject, and I would encourage all instructors to seek out training regarding special needs students. It certainly has helped me!
It seems that these people also have the most experience in a given field of study. I refer to them as the know it all. They also tend to get bad grades and refuse to understand why they don't get better grades. I do enjoy having them in the lab sometimes as they can bring up more complicated theory and practices. I have learned to selectively call on them in the class room and try using them in a positive way.
